How to Say ‘To be (polite)’ in Japanese
です
です
💬 Usage Tip: [です] is a polite “to be” ending. It makes statements sound neutral/polite. You can attach it to nouns/adjectives (e.g., [学生です], [元気です]).
🇯🇵 In Japan: Using [です] keeps your speech pleasantly polite for most daily situations. Dropping it can sound very casual or abrupt, depending on context.
Word-by-Word Breakdown
ですです
[desu]
am/is/are (polite copula)
Polite “to be.” Often appears at the end of a sentence to make it polite. Useful for basic self-introduction sentences like name, nationality, job, etc.
アメリカじんです。
I’m American.
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